Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Italian Turkey Sausage and White Bean Soup. {easy}

by Filed Under: Ground Turkey, Pasta, Soups, Turkey 2 Comments

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Winter has arrived this week in Pennsylvania, at least for this week – looking forward to warmer temps already next week.  But bone-chilling temps for me means making soup for dinner.  I experimented with this one and I have to say, it’s one of my favorites.  Not only was it super easy to make, relatively cost effective – it also tasted phenomenal and didn’t blow the pursuit of healthy eating.  I’m officially down 17 lbs!

So get ready… this would be the perfect weeknight night dinner idea or simmering along on a weekend for a lazy, family dinner.

Ingredients:

Olive oil
1 lb or so package of turkey sausage (I used hot), casing removed
1 tablespoon of fennel seeds
1 14 oz can of cannellini beans (white beans)
1 -28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (I used San Marzano)
2 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon of dried basil
1 teaspoon of dried parsley
Salt and pepper

Directions:

In your sauté pan over medium heat, drizzle a touch of olive oil to prevent the sausage from sticking.  Then add your sausage and break apart with a spatula as it cooks.  Cook until no longer pink.  Sprinkle in your fennel seeds.  Then add the remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil and then reduce and simmer.  Cover.  I let this simmer all afternoon.  Add additional broth if necessary.  You can serve this with noodles or not, I opted not to.  Adjust the salt and pepper before serving.

Beans are packed in fiber and protein – a great meal choice especially after kids/adults have finished practicing or working out.  🙂

 

 

— Knead to Cook

Turkey Sausage, Peas & Quinoa Salad.

by Filed Under: Turkey 3 Comments

Looking for a super fast weeknight meal?  This is perfect!  Quinoa, organic peas and spicy turkey sausage make this one dish meal a filling, quick dinner plus, leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

Ingredients:

1 cup of cooked quinoa, according to the package directions
1 one pound package of turkey sausage links
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp of olive oil
1 bag of frozen peas, I used Cascadia organic

Directions:

In your grill pan, add the olive oil.  Once heated, cook the turkey sausage links until cooked throughout.  Remove and slice into 2 inch pieces.  Add back to the pan with the chopped garlic.  Toss to coat.

In a separate pan, cook the frozen peas according to directions.  Then add to the cooked quinoa.  Toss the meat mixture in and mix thoroughly.  Serve and enjoy!

— Knead to Cook

Vegetable & turkey sausage frittata.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Egg dishes, Turkey, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

We love frittatas in my house.  Plus leftovers can be re-purposed into a great breakfast the following morning.  Another great thing about this type of dish is that you can use what veggies and meat you have on hand.  Easily adapted to a vegetarian dish by omitting the meat.  So many options!

Ingredients:

8 eggs, room temperature
1 lb of lean turkey sausage (I used hot) with the casing removed – cooked and crumbled into smaller pieces
1/4 c of grated parmesan cheese (not packed down in the measuring cup)
Fresh basil
Salt and pepper
2 small zucchinis sliced thin
1/4 of an onion, diced
1 large yellow pepper, chopped
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray your pie pan with a non stick spray. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, parm and seasonings.  Set aside.

In a skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil.  Add the peppers, onions and zucchini slices.  Cook until fork tender.  Remove and add to the egg mixture. Then add the cooked sausage crumbles.  Pour into your prepared pan.  Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the egg mixture is set and firm.  Slice into pieces and serve.

— Knead to Cook

Pasta Primavera with spicy turkey sausage.

by Filed Under: Pasta, Turkey Leave a Comment

This is such a wonderfully versatile recipe.  After being away for a long weekend, I didn’t have a chance to run to the grocery store but did make my weekly pilgrimage to the farmer’s market.  I purchased everything for dinner there and it was wonderful.  My kids love turkey sausage and it is a great way to pack a meal with some colorful vegetables.

Bring a large stock pot or Dutch oven filled with water to a boil.  Add some salt to season the water.

I used 1.36 lbs of spicy turkey sausage and grilled it till cooked and then sliced it and placed it in a sauté pan.

While that was cooking, I chopped up all of the veggies that I had purchased.  1 bunch of  asparagus chopped in half, 1/2 c of sugar snap peas, 1/4 of an onion, 2 red bell peppers and one zucchini, sliced.  I added them to the pan with the sausage and covered to steam.  This took about 7 minutes.  While this is cooking, boil your pasta according to package directions.

Once everything is cooked, toss together and I sprinkle with some spicy red pepper flakes.  Drizzle each plate with a tiny bit of olive oil and serve.  Bon Appetit!

 

 

— Knead to Cook

Turkey Sausage with Garlic & Orecchiette.

by Filed Under: Pasta, Turkey 3 Comments

My girls LOVE this dish!  They both asked for it so I had to indulge them.  I always purchase fresh turkey sausage from the Farmer’s Market and it is so good.  This recipe is super easy.  I cook the sausage on the stove or grill – cut it up into bite size pieces.  While cooking, cook your pasta according to package direction.  When the pasta has 4-5 minutes remaining, toss in the cut up asparagus to cook.  Drain it all and set aside.  In your serving bowl, I chop up 3 cloves of garlic – and add about 1/4 c of olive oil.  Add the pasta and the sausage.  Toss to coat.  Top with parsley, red pepper flakes and fresh ground pepper.  Serve and enjoy!

— Knead to Cook

Italian spicy sausage with roasted Rosemary potatoes.

by Filed Under: Potatoes, Turkey 3 Comments

Tuesday’s is Farmer’s Market day for me, typically.  Sadly, I haven’t been able to get there the past few weeks so I was thrilled to go after my very early run with my friend Alex.  My youngest, requested hot turkey sausage from the lovely Mennonite stand and I couldn’t resist her request.  So tonight’s dinner isn’t fancy by any stretch of the imagination but it was really good.

Rosemary roasted potatoes ~ I sliced small red potatoes and yams into bite sized pieces.  Drizzle with olive oil and toss with rosemary, sea salt and some parsley.  Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 for about 45 minutes, tossing halfway through.  Adjust the temperature if the potatoes are cooking too quickly.

Take 1-1.5 lbs of hot Italian turkey sausage and grill it until it’s just about cooked through.  Slice into 1 inch, bite sized pieces.  Throw that into a skillet with some olive oil and some sliced peppers & onions.  Cook this for a few minutes, until the peppers soften a bit.

Plate together and enjoy!  I served this with a mixed field greens salad.

— Knead to Cook